The last that I knew KW variant's were a semi-coil over system. How much moding would these take to fit our platform?

Mercedes KW Variant 3 (V3) Coilovers - SLK W171, C300/C350 W204

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I would like to see a custom kit that replaced all the front


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those are not for a crossfire K W 's for a crossfire are crap you get shocks to replace your shocks, and springs to replace your springs,,with the adjustment on top of the Springs,, that means you have to remove the spring every time you want to make an adjustment.. For $1900,, they are crap. take a look at these see the purple adjuster way WAY at the top. don;t buy them, they are a pita

The Purple At The Top Inside The Spring Holder Is The Adjusting Perch. Photo by amx1397 | Photobucket

 

I agree with the fact that KW's don't offer a true coilover for our cars and I know that the ones I posted are not for the crossfire. Les had these and he commented on them a few times.

Our cars are the R170 platform and the ones in the link are for a R171. I was wondering if there would be a way to modify or have someone retro fit a true coilover system. I have stock srt6 springs that have been cut and Koni adjustables that just aren't doing what I want them to.


I would also like to see an improvement mod for the steering.


Another thing,
At higher speeds the front of my car is less than consistently straight. I thought I had a ball joint going out but everything checked out when they installed the front KMAC's. New nitto invo's have about 750 miles on them now and still squirly with hard acceleration or at higher speeds when changing lanes or large curves.

can you remind me what you have for suspension with that V8?

 

sounds like you have a bent rear sway bar or ,the sway bar links are not Adjusted correctly. I have5 3/4 on the left and 6 inches on the right. you could also have a worn bushing somewhere on one of the rear links. (letting one wheel drive forward when you get on it hard) does it also try to move around when you let off the gas from a hard pull.?

I have all my rear suspension links replaced with Rudy's adjust the links ,I have centered my rear wheels, along with getting the distance between the front wheel and the rear wheel dead on the money. I do have the KW's on my car but I had to adjust them 10 to 15 times and may still need to adjust some more,

you cannot use the pullovers around the shock for the crossfire, Because the shock support is not strong enough, you'll push the shock in the spring right into the trunk, of course you could well plate that would go down to the frame up above the shock support and back to the frame, that might work.jim

 

I have not measured my sway bar links on the rear but started out the same length and adjusted them the same when I was finding that happy spot between long enough to not hit the upper adjustable MikeR camber arm and short enough to not hit the body seam of the car (I had to grind the body seam to allow clearance). The rear sway bar bushings are not even a year old and replaced with energy suspension urethane ones.

I find it inetersting that your sway bar links are different lengths. I never thought about measuring front wheel to back wheel or to double check the centering of the rear wheels.

You think it is something with the rear suspension?

I do notice a little shimmy when immediately letting off a hard throttle.

I am wondering if lowering as much as I did really messed up the handling?

 

My car was doing just what you had said yours was and i have not changed a thing on the front, now mine drives true now that i have put Rudy's rear links on it , it did take a few adjustments to get it right.

 

My rear suspension keeps loosing a nut on the drivers side camber arm. When it's loose or gone, the rear of the car moves a lot under hard braking. It dances around letting off the gas like Jim said. If the front isn't rock solid your A-arm bushings are cracked or your toe is way off. I've replaced my front A-Arm bushings 3 times already. (18,000 mostly track miles) Most likely the bushings. If your looking for the damage you can see it with a good light.

The K&W's aren't user friendly. You have to remove the spring on the corner you want to adjust, screw the perch up or down, reinstall, roll the car back and forth, check the results, start over. If you can't do it yourself it costs more than the K&W kit to get the car where you want it. I'd say it's aggressive street or light track rated. For heavy track usage it falls short. For a daily it falls short. You can't find optional springs. Your pretty much stuck. So, they suck, but their the best available. Don't you hate that?

Les

I just went back and see you have Kmacs. So do I. Humm.

 

Glad to hear I am not the only one. thanks for taking the time to explain your problems and solutions once again guys.

I replaced the steering stabilizer about a year/25K miles ago. I just had a front KMAC kit installed 2 months ago so I would hope the A arm bushings aren't bad (they get replaced with the KMAC right?)

I had another car that had a powertrax locking differential and the installer milled too much off the splines of the axles causing it to throw the car to the side whenever it locked or unlocked. For this car, I didn't get to drive much before I lowered it a year ago so I don't know how it is suppose to act. It is pretty bad trying to change lanes at higher speeds or any speed with sudden acceleration or braking, the steering is all over the place and it is hard to tell if it is the front or the rear.

So either the back or the front are the culprit and check all the articulating points? wheel bearings, lower ball joints, and steering tie rods with their ball joints are DIY projects for the front and replacing rear suspension bushings and checking the sway bar are for the rear.